Nobody will get red carpet treatment this year when Hollywood pauses Sunday for its annual celebration of the best in the motion picture industry.

Academy Award officials have canceled the traditional "red carpet" entrance for Hollywood stars at this year's Oscar awards because of the looming war with Iraq.

Oscars executives say the decision was made because celebrities felt uncomfortable at the prospect of chatting with journalists and posing for photos in a time of war.

They stressed that while the pre-show event will be eliminated, the presentation ceremony itself will go on.

Oscars official Gil Cates has asked Oscar presenters not to deviate from their scripts to talk about war. He said he would prefer Oscar winners to do the same, but they are free to say whatever they choose in their acceptance speeches.

Mr. Cates also said the show will be delayed if the ABC television network preempts it to broadcast war coverage. But he said odds are the show will go on.